the cost of living (SIGNED)

Martin Parr
the cost of living (SIGNED)

Photographs: Martin Parr

Text: Robert Chesshyre

Publisher: Cornerhouse

80 pages

Pictures: 61

Year: 1989

ISBN: 0 948797 55 X

Price: 150 €

Comments: Softcover, 22,3 x 28,5 cm, color photographs. First edition. In very good condition, other than slight signs of wear on the bottom of the spine and a stain on the last page along the spine. Signed by Martin Parr.

The middle classes are not what they were. Their ranks are swollen year-by-year, as the newly affluent adopt the lifestyle once enjoyed by a narrow band of English society.

The newcomers are less weighted down by notions of duty and propriety than were the ancienne bourgeoisie. They gratify their appetites, creating vast new markets - the leisure industry and the retail trade can scarcely keep abreast with the demand.

A fresh term is required for this social phenomenon, and Martin Parr has coined the phrase 'comfortable classes'. His photographs - avoiding both the stereotype and the caricature - capture them as they spend their money and pursue their recreations.

His people are at the heart of English society: they are articulate and forceful, and their aspirations will largely determine which way the nation goes. Parr's portfolio constitutes a penetrating portrait of Britain after ten years of Thatcherism.

The accompanying text is by Robert Chesshyre, a former Washington correspondent and columnist of The Observer.